Welcome to the Abilene Public Library’s Virtual Classroom. This space will offer a new place for youth, teens, and adults to learn more about a variety of topics, with new content added regularly.
For each class, we'll share background information, educational videos, lesson plans, resources available for continued learning and more. Plus, we’ll offer a link to a test we’d appreciate if you completed to show what you learned!
Periodic Table of the Elements
How the Elements Got Their Names
Periodic Table - Crash Course in Chemistry
Demitri Ivanovich Mendeleev studied elements for the idea of the periodic table.
60 elements are known at the time and are laid out according to atomic weight and reactivity.
Mendeleev noticed gaps in the elements weights and realized that there were undiscovered elements.
Alkali metals, Alkaline earth metals, Transition metals, Halogens, Metals, Metalloids, Gases and nonmetals were known at Mendeleev's time. Lanthanides and Actinides plus noble gases were not.
Six others worked on the periodicity of elements. Mendeleev knew the information the best and printed it in a textbook on Chemistry.
Mendeleev denied the existence of atoms.
Royal Society of Chemistry - History of the Periodic Table
The Royal Society of Chemistry's interactive periodic table features history, Alchemy, podcasts, videos and data trends across the periodic table. Copy and paste the following URL into your browser, https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/history then click the tabs at the top and explore each section. Use the buttons to change your view of the periodic table. Murray Robertson is responsible for the Visual Elements artwork. Click each element to read detailed information regarding the history of the element including the scientists who discovered the element and when.
Careers in Chemistry
Watch this video and discover the different jobs that can be found in the Chemistry field of study. The presenter speaks about the what you need to do in college to pick up the skills needed for this field. He describes the skills needed, jobs and careers, entry jobs as lab techs, entry level chemist, internships, and graduate school. He also explores careers in Chemistry that can be developed once a student has achieved a graduate degree, the different industries where chemists work, building a healthy resume and creating a social network. The presenter provides tips to landing a job, undergraduate research, and learning interpersonal skills.
Easy Teacher Worksheets. Science page. "Elements, Compounds and Mixtures" 12, Aug. 2020.https://www.easyteacherworksheets.com/science/elements.html
Nichols, Megan Ray. "Who made the Periodic Table and Why?" Schooled by Science. 9, Aug. 2020. https://schooledbyscience.com/periodic-table-version-history/
Royal Society of Chemistry. "Periodic Table". Royal Society of Chemistry9, Aug. 2020. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/video
Chemical Compounds Offers information on the ways in which different chemical elements combine to form commonly-used chemical compounds, such as water, ammonia, and aspirin. Defines what a chemical compound actually is and the difference between organic and inorganic compounds, as well as providing definitions of acids, bases, salts, oxides, and coordination compounds. Features a general historical overview of major discoveries and the notable scientists who made them.
Chemical Elements by David E. Newton. Provides in-depth information on 112 known chemical elements, plus coverage of recently discovered elements 113 through 116 and 118. These "books" themselves are clickable links or they can also be found in the Gale Virtual Reference Library
The lesson plan for this virtual classroom was brought to you by PBS learning media. Please use it in conjunction with the videos and other worksheets made available on this page.
The following Texas standards are listed. These lesson plan and videos will touch on the standards below.
Chemistry and Physics
10.3. (E) The student is expected to research and describe the history of physics, chemistry, and contributions of scientists.
TX.112.42 (10.3) Integrated Physics and Chemistry: Scientific Processes: The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions.
10.7. (B) The student is expected to research and describe the historical development of the atomic theory.
Chemistry Science concepts
TX.112.45 (10.3) Chemistry: Scientific Processes: The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions.
10.3. (D) The student is expected to describe the connection between chemistry and future careers.
10.3. (E) The student is expected to research and describe the history of chemistry and contributions of scientists.
TX.112.45 (10.4) Chemistry: Science Concepts: The student knows the characteristics of matter.10.4. (D) The student is expected to describe the physical and chemical characteristics of an element using the periodic table and make inferences about its chemical behavior.
10.6. (C) The student is expected to summarize the historical development of the periodic table to understand the concept of periodicity.
TX.112.45 (10.11) Chemistry: Science Concepts: The student knows that balanced chemical equations are used to interpret and describe the interactions of matter.
10.11. (A) The student is expected to identify common elements and compounds using scientific nomenclature.